Borja Oubiña

Borja Oubiña Meléndez (born 17 May 1982) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a defensive midfielder.

This article uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Oubiña and the second or maternal family name is Meléndez.

Borja Oubiña
Oubiña in 2013
Personal information
Full name Borja Oubiña Meléndez[1]
Date of birth (1982-05-17) 17 May 1982[1]
Place of birth Vigo, Spain[1]
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)[1]
Playing position(s) Defensive midfielder
Youth career
1989–1990 Moledo
1989–1996 Gran Peña
1996–2001 Celta
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2001–2004 Celta B 67 (4)
2004–2015 Celta 217 (5)
2007–2008 → Birmingham City (loan) 2 (0)
Total 286 (9)
National team
2006 Spain 2 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

After starting his professional career at local Celta, he played in England with Birmingham City in 2007, but his spell was immediately cut short with a severe knee injury, which would relapse in the following years.[2] He appeared in 236 competitive matches for his main club, with whom he spent five La Liga seasons.[3]

Club career
Oubiña training with Celta in 2009

A ball-winning midfielder who came through the youth teams of hometown club RC Celta de Vigo, Oubiña was born in Vigo, and he first appeared with the first team – courtesy of Miguel Ángel Lotina – during 2003–04 in a 2–2 away draw against Valencia CF, as the Galicians, then also participating in the UEFA Champions League, eventually finished second from bottom in La Liga; he became a mainstay in the subsequent seasons, under Fernando Vázquez.[4]

After Celta's top-flight relegation in the 2006–07 campaign, Oubiña stated his desire to leave although still under contract. As of August, it seemed that countryman José Antonio Camacho's S.L. Benfica were in the pole to acquire his services, but an agreement could not be reached on a fee – rumoured to be €10 million.[5]

On 31 August 2007, a one-year loan to Premier League side Birmingham City was agreed.[6] Oubiña made his competitive debut on 15 September, as a late substitute against Bolton Wanderers; after 13 minutes of the next match, at Liverpool, he sustained an injury in a collision with Dirk Kuyt to his left anterior cruciate ligament, and was expected to be sidelined for at least six months.[7]

On 9 February 2008, Oubiña's loan spell at Birmingham was cancelled by mutual consent,[8] and he returned to Vigo to start his recovery. On 6 December, more than a year after his last appearance, he played four minutes in a 0–2 loss at UD Las Palmas, and made a further 14 appearances in the season; he relapsed in mid-September 2009, and underwent surgery in October preparatory to the planned reconstruction of his cruciate ligament in early 2010, after which he would miss the remainder of 2009–10.[9]

Oubiña returned to full fitness in the 2011–12 campaign,[10] playing 28 matches (24 starts, 2,120 minutes of action) as Celta returned to the top level after a five-year absence.[11] In 2014–15, however, he again failed to appear in any games due to injury.[12]

On 22 May 2015, five days after his 33rd birthday, Oubiña announced his retirement.[13]

International career

Oubiña earned two caps for the Spain national team, the first coming on 2 September 2006 against Liechtenstein in Badajoz (4–0 victory): he came on as a substitute for David Albelda in the second half of a UEFA Euro 2008 qualifier.[14]

Club statistics
Club Season League Cup Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Celta 2003–04[15] La Liga 120102[lower-alpha 1]0150
2004–05[15] Segunda División 30110—311
2005–06[15] La Liga 36120—381
2006–07[15] La Liga 301107[lower-alpha 2]0381
2007–08[15] Segunda División 1000—10
2008–09[15] Segunda División 15000—150
2009–10[15] Segunda División 0000—00
2010–11[15] Segunda División 4000—40
2011–12[15] Segunda División 28030—310
2012–13[15] La Liga 36120—381
2013–14[15] La Liga 25100—251
2014–15[16] La Liga 0000—00
Total 2175100902365
Birmingham City (loan) 2007–08[16] Premier League 2000—20
Career total 2195100902385
  1. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  2. Appearances in UEFA Cup
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References
  1. "Borja Oubiña". Faro de Vigo (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 14 March 2017. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  2. "Borja Oubiña sobre su lesión: "No tengo buenas sensaciones"" [Borja Oubiña on his injury: "I don't feel good about this"]. ABC (in Spanish). 22 April 2012. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  3. Varela, Marci (20 November 2016). "Al Celta se le atragantan los partidos después de los parones" [Celta choke on matches after breaks] (in Spanish). El Desmarque. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  4. "Borja Oubiña" (in Spanish). Yo Jugué en el Celta. 24 May 2015. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  5. "El Celta negocia con el Benfica el traspaso de Oubiña" [Celta in negotiations with Benfica for Oubiña transfer]. El Correo Gallego (in Spanish). 23 August 2007. Retrieved 3 October 2009.
  6. "Birmingham sign midfielder Oubiña". BBC Sport. 31 August 2007. Retrieved 25 September 2007.
  7. "Oubiña facing six-month absence". BBC Sport. 24 September 2007. Retrieved 25 September 2007.
  8. "Oubiña leaves Blues". Birmingham City F.C. 9 February 2008. Archived from the original on 12 February 2008. Retrieved 9 February 2008.
  9. López, Víctor (5 October 2009). "La operación a Borja Oubiña reveló que su ligamento estaba destrozado" [Borja Oubiña operation revealed that his ligament was destroyed]. La Voz de Galicia (in Spanish). Retrieved 6 October 2009.
  10. "Borja Oubiña vuelve a jugar un año y medio después" [Borja Oubiña plays again one year and a half later]. Marca (in Spanish). 27 January 2011. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
  11. Gozalo, Víctor M. (2 June 2012). "Iago Aspas, Oubiña y De Lucas, claves en el ascenso" [Iago Aspas, Oubiña and De Lucas, key to promotion] (in Spanish). Te Interesa. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
  12. "Borja Oubiña fue operado de su rodilla y será baja 4 meses" [Borja Oubiña underwent surgery to his knee and will miss 4 months]. Diario AS (in Spanish). 5 August 2014. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  13. "Borja Oubiña anuncia su retirada" [Borja Oubiña announces retirement]. Marca (in Spanish). 22 May 2015. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  14. Astruells, Andrés (3 September 2006). "A las puertas del mil" [Nearing the 1000th]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 30 May 2013.
  15. "Oubiña: Borja Oubiña Meléndez". BDFutbol. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  16. "Borja Oubiña". Soccerway. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
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